Editing Landsoftheblacksea:Main Page/players/gabriel malavielle

Scion of the highly respected Dampierre family of Avis Inia, the young Edouard was celebrated as the heir to the family titles and estates upon his birth. His father, Baron Clément Dampierre,II, was a favorite in the Royal Court. He owned a number of small estates in the western-central region of the country, which had rich soil and recently had been found to contain veins of iron and copper in the foothills of the Iron Mountains that lay within them, making him rich as well as flowing vast sums into the Royal Coffers. It was rumored that the King was considering Clément for the title of Vicompte – or, dare it be said, perhaps even Compte?

Edouard had a normal birth, and for a time, all seemed right within the Dampierre family.

But as he grew older, Edouard grew into a spoiled child, and from there a rather spoiled young man. His father, granted the title Vicompte of the areas surrounding his original holdings, was away managing the estates for long periods of time. Galatea hire the best tutors and teacher’s money could buy, but they were no replacement for his Father. When he was in the City, Clément would try to set Edouard straight, disciplining him and setting him to difficult and sometimes dirty tasks to try to make him appreciate his station and responsibilities, but Edouard would routinely defy his father and slip away with his friends, with whom he began to engage in all manner of unseemly and ignoble activities.

And then, much to everyone’s surprise, Galatea announced she was with child again. She gave birth to a healthy boy – Bruno Dampierre, named after Clément’s grandfather. After this, Clément felt he had more leverage – arguments ended with threats that Edouard could be disowned, that Bruno could be named heir to the family’s estates.

A particularly bad episode that threatened the family with scandal - and was cause for the Lord High Chamberlain to summon Clément for a meeting to discuss it – was the final straw. Clément decided to send Edouard away to an Academe located in the Town of Aven Bentois; far from The White City and the innumerable temptations of the Capital city, The Baron felt that perhaps Edouard would finally learn what is was to be a man. Aven Bentois was much closer to The Baron’s estates, which would let him visit more often. He forbade Galatea from accompanying her son, insisting that too much time with only a Woman to guide him had caused him to stray, and that some time away from family in the strict but fair hands of the Charbonnier Academy was their only hope of changing the boy’s ways. Clément swore that Edouard would come back the noble-born man of his bloodline, or he would not come back at all.

Edouard fully intended on escaping and returning to the City, but his Father had cleverly decided to send him by boat most of the way. Until the ship docked at Belis-ar-Weil, Edouard had no way to escape. And once there, he was trundled onto a horse and ridden out of town West, towards Aven Bentois, under the guard of three large and dour men who were not his father’s retainers. For the first time in his life, Edouard felt fear.

Arriving in Aven Bentois, Edouard could barely restrain his loathing of the setting – the place didn’t even have a proper curtain-wall, and it was so small that the Jhonians mixed with proper Athernians, and the Furfeet mixed with everyone. It practically put him off his food!

With no money or access to transport, Edouard was trapped. He decided to bide his time until an escape option presented itself. In the meantime, he took what pleasure he could in tormenting the other students at the Academe – most of who were either from families of lower station, or (fie!) not of noble birth at all. As many of them did various chores and duties in consideration for lower tuitions, Edouard would ensure that they earned every penny – his clothes were always the filthiest, his dishes the dirtiest, his room a sty. And when he was assigned a simple task, such as filling inkpots, he would always turn it into another disaster that would require hours of work from his classmates to restore things to normalcy.

Dusting the shelves in the office, Edouard leaned forward to reach a high shelf, and his foot caught on a large footstool near the fireplace. He began to fall forward, cursing, landed with a thump face down on the floor, looking into the fireplace.

Edouard winced. He anticipated what would happen next – expulsion? Where would his father send him next – a monastery? He shuddred, squeezing his eyes shut.

The fireplace immediately erupted into flames – without any logs or kindling or anything to burn ever having been placed into it. Edouard’s jaw dropped as Boulen relaxed, and then extended his hands towards the fire, rubbing them.

“A handy skill, don’t you think?” the man said, looking back over his shoulder at Edouard.

Mezmerized, Edouard listened as Boulen told him of knowledge that had existed since before the First Line of Kings – knowledge that was once used for the good of men, as well as for evil. But since the Restoration of the Line and rise of The Holy Faith, knowledge that had been shunned, banned, and repressed within the Kingdom.

Boulen continued. Edouard was a gifted student. He could become a talented scholar and practitioner of this knowledge. But it would come with a price. “Your father can never know, nor can your mother or any of their peers. Were your involvement to be found out, it would be the ruin of your family – your father would be cast down, his titles stripped, and your house would end penniless.”

Boulen looked at the young man eye to eye. “This is not an accident, Edouard; your mother availed herself of these arts in order to conceive you, and this power leaves its mark on those that it touches. No, it is true – I know the woman she employed, a good woman who is discrete and would not speak a word of it to anyone save those that have the best interests of your father and the King at heart. We keep watch over things, gently nudging when needed, but quietly and carefully lest we be discovered.